Check each plant’s growing zones.
Your local nursery or county extension service office can offer advice.
Here are the best fall-blooming flowers for your perennial garden.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
Warning
Some of the plants listed are toxic to humans and animals, as noted below.
The flowers appear first, blooming for two to three weeks, and then die back.
The next spring, long leaves will sprout and then disappear as summer heats up.
The Spruce
The plant remains dormant throughout the summer and blooms in early fall.
It looks good all year, requires minimal maintenance, and attracts few problems.
The only drawback of sedum, commonly known as stonecrop, is it’s notdeer-resistant.
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Pruning the plant in early July can encourage bushier and sturdier growth.
It grows from 2 to 4 feet tall and is clump-forming.
Removing faded flower panicles will prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding as cultivars do not come true from seed.
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It attracts birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Many can grow quite tall and will need to be staked or pinched.
It starts as a puff or bubble and pops open when ready to bloom.
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Balloon flower is a profuse bloomer and the plants spread slowly, filling in without becoming a nuisance.
Cut the plants back in the spring or fall, otherwise, virtually there’s no other maintenance required.
variegata) can grow up to 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Bengal tiger cannas have yellow and green striped leaves and an orange bloom.
Other varieties are prized for their foliage and range of bloom colors from July to October.
It slowly opens its blossoms with dazzling flower clusters that butterflies and bumblebees love.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
The plant blooms on new wood, and the gray-green foliage is attractive all season.
Flowers appear from mid-summer to fall for long-lasting interest in the garden.
Cut the stems back by half in the late spring to promote fuller more compact growth.
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There are more than 100 species in the goldenrod family.
Bees and butterflies love these flowers.
Goldenrod is fairly low-maintenance and can be an aggressive spreader in the garden.
Marie Iannotti
So if you want to control its spread, remove the flower heads before they go to seed.
This plant requires little maintenance once established though some taller plants might need staking to prevent flopping.
It can make a wonderful backdrop to a garden border.
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Tiny mauve blooms appear in round clusters or florets in midsummer to early fall.
To prevent the plants from becoming overgrown and flopping over, cut them back in the late winter.
To winter over in cooler climates, provide a light winter mulch.
The Spruce / Lindsay Talley
Plant it in rocky areas in full sun.
Space plants 10 to 16 inches apart when you plant.
The plant has an aggressive root system and can spread freely, however, is not considered invasive.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
It grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide.
The showy, bicolor flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
verify your plant is well watered, especially in hot weather.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Put a layer of mulch around the planting site before cold weather to keep the roots warm.
The flowers attract bees and butterflies and make lovely cut flowers.
Cut plants to the ground after flowering to promote strong new growth.
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Perennial Sunflower
DEA/G.
ButHelianthusincludes perennial sunflowers that bloom in the fall.
The perennials generally produce smaller daisy-like flowers than the annuals but in larger quantities.
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simulans, H. schweinitzii, H. divaricatus,andH.
The blooming begins slowly, and the flower color gets more brilliant as the small blooms fully open.
Pruning should be done in the late winter to early spring, as the flowers form on new growth.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
The flowers retain their shape and color when dried and are grown for the dried flower market.
Most plants grow 2 to 3 feet tall.
Deadhead regularly to encourage side shoots and blooms.
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It can be grown as an annual or perennial but sweet alyssum is acool-season flower.
It grows 2 to 4 inches tall and 8 to 12 inches wide.
The plant may be trimmed after flowering to maintain its shape.
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Stonecrop spreads by underground stolons and is suitable for coastal, cottage, rock, and pollinator gardens.
The flowers attract pollinators and songbirds use the vine as a nesting site.
This plant can be cut to the ground in fall or spring because it flowers only on new wood.
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Most bloom periodically throughout the summer season.
But if you prune back your plant after it flowers it will put on a glorious fall floral display.
Bees and butterflies tend to love the daisy-like blooms.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
Most diseases and pests avoid the plant.
Watering usually isn’t essential unless you go for a long stretch without rainfall.
It is a fall-blooming perennial that does not handle excessive dry heat well.
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But it is perfect for a damp area in your garden.
Turtlehead is not unruly.
It grows in a dense clump with attractive foliage and flowers that bloom for weeks attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.
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you’re able to prune it lightly to shape it in the late fall or spring.
They’re called blanket flowers because they spread and “blanket” an area.
They are short-lived plants that are fast-growing.
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These plants are slightly toxic.
The plant is native to the central and eastern United States and has been around since the 1700s.
Dahlia
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Dahlias (Dahliaspp.)
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bloom from midsummer to the first frost.
They originated in Mexico and are considered perennials in a warmer climate but annuals below zone 8.
The dahlia plant is toxic to pets so take care if you have dogs or cats around.
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Boltonia
Boltonia (Boltonia asteroides)flowers from late summer into fall with daisy-like flowers.
They are bushy, perennial plants that can grow 2 to 4 feet wide.
The flowers generally have white petals with a yellow (or pink or violet) disc in the center.
Marie Iannotti
They attract butterflies and pollinators.
This plant is generally found in the eastern U.S.
Colchicum autumnale.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Hylotelephium ‘Herbstfreude’ Autumn Joy.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Helenium autumnale.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Platycodon grandiflorus.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
variegata.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Suzanne Bonin / Getty Images
Caryopteris x clandonensis.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Salvia azurea.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Solidago.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
Anemone x hybrida.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Eutrochium purpureum.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Carole Cote / Getty Images
Salvia leucantha.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Chrysanthemum.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Symphyotrichum novi-belgii.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Helianthus.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Salvia yangii.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Xerochrysum bracteatum.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Lobularia maritima.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Lobulariamaritima(L.) Desv.
Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States.
Hylotelephium cauticola.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Clematis paniculata.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Coreopsis grandiflora.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Chelone lyonii.North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox.
Toxic Plants (By Common Name).
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
North Carolina State Extension.
Southern Belle Cone-Fections Coneflower.North Shore Plant Club.
Dahlia.ASPCA Animal Poison Control.
Fundamentals of Growing Dahlias.American Dahlia Society.
North Carolina State Extension.
